Update | University of Hong Kong’s council votes 12-8 to reject Johannes Chan’s appointment as pro-vice-chancellor
Students and alumni immediately condemn decision as politically motivated, due to liberal scholar's close ties to Occupy Central founder
In an unprecedented move, after months of delay and controversy, the University of Hong Kong's governing council has rejected Professor Johannes Chan Man-mun's appointment to a key managerial post.
The decision was immediately condemned by students and alumni, who accused pro- government council members of politicising an academic matter and threatened to challenge it in court.
The opposition to Chan's appointment has been linked to his close ties to colleague Benny Tai Yiu-ting, a co-founder of the Occupy Central movement.
Today is the saddest day in the University of Hong Kong’s 100 years of history
In a secret ballot last night, the council voted 12-8 to reject a search committee's recommendation that Chan should take up the post of a pro-vice-chancellor in charge of academic staffing and resources.
Embattled council chairman Edward Leong Che-hung, who did not take part in the vote, insisted it was in the "long-term best interests" of the university.
"Because of the issue of confidentiality of the council and also of the privacy of the candidate concerned, we will not be exposing what was discussed," he said.
But an angry HKU student union president Billy Fung Jing-en, who sits on the council, abandoned confidentiality rules to spill the beans on what pro-government council members and non-HKU staff had said behind closed doors.